silvergoldmagazine.ca
HOUSE + HOME
‘MULCH’ OF IT IS GARBAGE
– By Brandon M. Gelderman
When you walk into a forest below a large tree you will find a soil. Then define the cut a new garden bed edge, clear soil away
bed of mulch. This layer of mulch will consist of broken branches
from the tree, bark, leaves that have fallen, and insects which
are slowly helping the components decompose over time. The
process of turning trees and bark into mulch is chipping the
wood into smaller sizes and laying it in a garden, similar to a
forest. Then we go into the city and suburbs where people enjoy
installing mulch in their gardens for curb appeal, protection
of plants and moisture retention.
Many people like soil around the plants, which needs to be
cultivated weekly, and other people like mulch in the gardens.
Adding soil in the gardens is good every few years, as tree and
shrub roots start to appear and some nutrient soil helps assure
the health of your plants.
Another option is to add mulch. The process of adding mulch
is not very difficult:
First, pull all the weeds in the garden and cultivate the existing
from sidewalks, brick and window wells. Prune plants that
need a trim. Finally, neatly rake the garden smooth and sweet
off patios and driveway.
You are now ready to install mulch into the garden. The best
thickness for mulch is 3” to 4” inches. (Some people install
landscape fabric/filter cloth and then 1” of mulch… this is
asking for weeds to start growing even through the fabric).
It is less time consuming to layer the mulch on thicker, and
save time cutting the fabric around the plants – and being
discouraged when the weeds start to grow. Newspaper can be
used before mulching, another very time consuming installation
process and a lot a reading material.
When you install mulch around plants don’t go any closer
than 2” to 4” inches around the base of perennials, shrubs
and trees. Uncover branches if they end up getting covered
by mulch, because this will cause the lower branches of trees
and shrubs to die. Unfortunately when the mulch is pushed
right up against the bark similar to the “volcano effect,” it will
cause the roots to wrap around the base of the tree and over
time choke out the tree and cause rot on the bark, which will
slowly kill the tree.
Which type of mulch to choose? There are dyed
colours and there is natural. Some obvious trendy mulches are
black and red; they are a mystery of woods used and the dye
gets all over your hands, clothes, driveways and walkways – and
it goes mouldy. After a few years, much of it remains in the
garden which is a true mystery.
My favourite are natural mulches like pine, cedar or hemlock,
which break down over time and are very good for the
surrounding plants, as you’re adding organic material. Compost
bin waste, mushroom compost, grass clippings, leaves and
other organic matter can also be used as mulch in the garden.
Mulching must be done on a yearly or bi-yearly occurrence
for best results. A great time to apply the mulch is just before
winter after the fall clean-up has been done, to protect the plants
and retain moisture over the winter months, and add interest
to the garden. Another great time to apply mulch is in spring
after the spring clean-up has been completed.
Do you have garden questions? Need help planning? Contact
me and let’s enjoy happy gardening year-round! •
Brandon M. Gelderman is a landscape designer and founder of
Gelderlands Inc. in Burlington. 905-637-1509 www.gelderlands.ca
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